People don’t talk much about Cookie Thornton anymore. Mistrust some felt of City Hall has eased, but not disappeared. Meacham Park is less separate from Kirkwood, but not wholly integrated. Normalcy has crept back, except for one key ingredient – the innocence that the people of Kirkwood lost on Feb. 7, 2008.
Writing about Kirkwood after the City Hall shootings has been intensely personal for one reporter. William H. Freivogel and his wife Margaret Wolf Freivogel, Beacon editor, both grew up in Kirkwood, live there now and have lived there a majority of their lives.
Harriet Patton, the leader of Meacham Park in Kirkwood, says that a neighborhood celebration Saturday is a time to “move ahead” and “look to the future,” turning the page on the past. For Patton, it could be a significant shift in emphasis.
Assistant Principal Romona Miller (right) and counselor Donald Smith, two black authority figures at Kirkwood High School, have the most contact with black students. Miller heads the Black Achievement and Culture Club, while Smith mentors
William H. Freivogel has spent most of his life in Kirkwood. He attended Kirkwood schools; he has lived there as a child and as an adult. And he has covered, as a reporter, some of Kirkwood's most momentous events, including the killings at City Hall nearly two years ago. In this essay, he writes about his growing awareness and understanding of how race has shaped his home community.
Perception often collides with facts when it comes to race. That is especially true in the intertwined story of Kirkwood's redevelopment of Meacham Park and Charles Lee "Cookie" Thornton's deadly assault on City Hall Feb. 7, 2008. The Beacon
Perception often collides with facts when it comes to race. That is especially true in the intertwined story of Kirkwood's redevelopment of Meacham Park and Charles Lee "Cookie" Thornton's deadly assault at City Hall Feb. 7, 2008.
Kirkwood and the Department of Justice will sign a formal agreement Thursday evening at City Hall completing a two-year racial mediation process that followed the Feb. 7, 2008 City Hall shootings.
Harriet Patton, a long-time activist in Meacham Park and president of its neighborhood association, said she resigned last month because city officials on the team kept saying there are no racial problems in Kirkwood. A spokesman for the Justice Department team said he was unable to comment on Patton's resignation or the team's progress because its discussions are confidential.
A year after the City Hall murders of Feb. 7, 2008, important changes have come to Kirkwood, while other things have remained unchanged. Mayor Art McDonnell is credited with opening up City Hall and city government to a much greater extent than before, but many residents of Meacham Park still believe that racism pervades the way their neighborhood is treated by city government.
Kirkwood's journey · 2008 Kirkwood shooting · gun violence · Education · comic books
Charles "Cookie" Thornton · Harriet Patton · Art Mcdonnell · Mike Swoboda · Franklin McCallie · Paul Ward · Michael Moore · Rosalind Williams · Michael Brown · Gerald Thornton
Community for Understanding and Healing · Kirkwood High School
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Meeting in St. Louis next week, the Leadership Conference of Women Religious will have its first opportunity as an assembled group to consider what to do after the Vatican issued a mandate for change this spring. It calls on the conference to reorganize and more strictly observe church teachings.
When a family of four goes to the St. Louis Zoo, they can be forgiven for not knowing it will cost them $60, $72 if they park. If they can't pay, the alternative is to tell the kids they can't do what kids do at the zoo.
Missouri House Speaker Steve Tilley gave reporters less than a half-hour’s notice today when he announced that conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh’s sculptured bust will be formally installed in the Capitol at 1 p.m.
Developers on the south side come in all shapes and sizes, with ambitions that vary from single buildings to entire city blocks. In the first of a two-part story, Jason Deem talks about building community.
Author M.M. Costantin, who has lived near the Loop for more than 40 years, compiled a photo book that shows Delmar when it was bustling, when it was dangerous and when it came back to life.
They arrived four years ago as fifth-graders, behind in their work and not used to rigorous classes, but they've advanced rapidly and have a strong academic grounding for high school.
The Beacon's Mary Delach Leonard and Rob Koenig extensively covered flooding in 2011 in Missouri. Now this coverage is compiled in an iBook. Read the stories.
Organizers aren't trying to replace the rib fest, but music lovers will be able to find tangy sustenance as they listen to such greats as Mavis Staples (pictured), Big George Brock, Trombone Shorty, Kim Massie and Marquise Knox take the stage.
Isley, a world-class guitarist as well as a gifted songwriter, communicates and connects swith an audience on an intimate level at "An Evening of Music and Discussion." He is hosting the event on Thursday in O'Fallon, Mo.
Like many artists, dancer Antonio Douthit hears a different drummer. But the drumbeat that changed his life at 16 wasn’t in his head. It wafted from a window on Washington Avenue. Douthit comes home for a May 25 performance in "Spring to Dance."
Donna Korando is the Beacon's arts and features editor. You can contact her at dkorando@stlbeacon.org.
Developers on the south side come in all shapes and sizes, with ambitions that vary from single buildings to entire city blocks. In the first of a two-part story, Jason Deem talks about building community.
Speaking to reporters at Monsanto, Howard Buffett warned that future generations would foot the bill for irresponsible soil use. He urged leaders to address thorny issues such as malnutrition and environmental destruction.
Twenty winners will split a million dollars and a wide array of professional services after this year's Arch Grants competition. Victors will also see one-on-one business mentoring in their prize package. The diverse group includes everything from biotech concerns to fashion enterprises.
Innovation and entrepreneurial activity are on the rise in St. Louis, especially in bioscience, technology and alternative energy. The Beacon's InnovationSTL section focuses on the people who are part of this wave, what they're doing and how this is shaping our future. To many St. Louisans, this wave is not yet visible. InnovationSTL aims to change that. We welcome you to share your knowledge, learn more about this vibrant trend and discuss its impact.
The Academy of Science-St. Louis hosts tours of EarthDance, an organic farm, and the Monsanto Agronomics and Breeding Facility May 21-22. The workshop is meant to prompt discussion and answer questions about these two competing philosophies of food production.
Speaking to reporters at Monsanto, Howard Buffett warned that future generations would foot the bill for irresponsible soil use. He urged leaders to address thorny issues such as malnutrition and environmental destruction.
Vernon Bowman's challenge to Monsanto Co.'s patent on its Roundup Ready soybean seeds was billed as a David vs. Goliath contest. Goliath won and won big. The Supreme Court ruled unanimously that an Indiana soybean farmer had violated Monsanto's patent on its genetically engineered soybean seeds.
Sally Altman is the Beacon's Health and Science editor. You can contact her at saltman@stlbeacon.org.
You have to know your audience: McDonald's regulars don't need free-range chicken or a certain breed of beef; a second-chance high school needs personally motivated students as opposed to people ordered to attend and low-income Democrats by and large don't want a cigarette tax.
Last week, Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura sacrificed his crown as the King of America. He faced an individual decision to play against the best in the nation or the best on the planet. Find out what happened at that world-level tournament.
Our world sees rapid change in many ways -- how we view women, races, sexual minorities and other populations, for instance. While a daily delivery of new and different can be exhausting, it can force us to reflect and consider how to move forward, often incrementally, toward what is good and what bring value to our lives.
Donna Korando is the Beacon's Voices editor. You can contact her and submit opinion pieces for possible publication at dkorando@stlbeacon.org.